


Dressed to Impress

by DecadentCollectionDestiny



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Headcanon, I'm Bad At Titles, One Shot, Quickies, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:42:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27615032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DecadentCollectionDestiny/pseuds/DecadentCollectionDestiny
Summary: Ryuji is in a pinch. He needs to learn how to tie a tie, and quick. And there's only one person he can think of who can help him...
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Sakamoto Ryuji
Comments: 2
Kudos: 47





	Dressed to Impress

**Author's Note:**

> Rated T for language. Based on a headcanon from @ryujisakamotoheadcanons on tumblr!

“Ugh, I cannot  _ believe  _ I’m doin’ this…” Ryuji muttered under his breath as he punched the number into his phone. “C’mon, c’mon, pick up…” he mumbled, tugging at the collar of his stiff white shirt impatiently.

A tone sounded as the video call was answered. “Sakamoto?” Akechi’s miffed face appeared on Ryuji’s screen. He appeared to be at home, sitting at a table with papers spread across it. “What’s this about?”

Ryuji sighed. “Yeah, yeah, I know this is outta the ordinary, but you gotta help me, man.”

“Help you?” Akechi perplexed. “Why me?”

“You’re the only one I could think of. Listen. I’m going to a wedding with my mom and that means I gotta wear one of these things.” He waved the black necktie in his hand so Akechi could see it, cracking it like a whip. “And I can’t for the life of me figure out how to tie the damn thing.”

Akechi scowled. “I’m busy. Google is free.”

“I tried Google!” Ryuji cried. “I tried every how-to article and tutorial video on the freaking Internet and I  _ still _ screwed it up. I had to get my mom to help get me untangled once.”

A smirk crept onto Akechi’s face and he let out a snicker. 

“Don’t laugh, you asshole!” Ryuji snapped. “It’s not  _ my  _ fault I never had a dad to teach me how to do this!”

Akechi’s smirk disappeared. “Look,” continued Ryuji. “I might be dumb, but I just wanna look nice to make my mom happy, okay? I think I just need someone to tell me exactly what I’m doin’ wrong and how to not mess it up. You’re the only one I know who wears ties on the regular and if you won’t help, I’m screwed. Now will you help me or not?”

“What color jacket are you wearing?” Akechi asked.

“Huh?”

“What color jacket are you wearing?” Akechi repeated.

“Black,” Ryuji replied in bewilderment.

“Is that the only tie you have?”

“Uh… no, I think I got a couple other ones.”

“Let me see them.”

“Why though?”

“Are you going to make me repeat myself  _ again _ ?”

“Alright then...” Ryuji set his phone down and was back in a few seconds with his three other ties. He held them up one after the other. “Okay, I got this gray one with stripes, this other black one that’s, like, shinier, and this dark red one.”

Akechi nodded. “Red one.” He rested his chin in his hand. “Do you want the easy way or the hard way that looks better?”

Ryuji thought for a minute. “Hard way.”

“Right choice. Stand your collar up and put the tie around your neck.”

Ryuji propped up his phone so his hands were free and did what Akechi said. “Okay.”

“No, the other way. Wider end on your right. ...There you go. Now put the thinner end higher than the wider end. More... Stop. Cross the right over the left. Okay, and now hold it in the middle and...” Akechi looked up at the ceiling, making a motion with his hand near his own neck. “Hold on…”

“What?” Ryuji asked. “You’re leavin’ me hangin’ here, dude.” 

“Put it through the middle,” Akechi said slowly. Ryuji took the skinny end of his tie and fed it through the loop around his neck. “This what you mean?”

“Yes…” Akechi had a look of intense concentration on his face. “Now take the other end and bring it under and to the other side. And then through the middle.”

“Okay… does it look right?”

“Yes… wait,” Akechi interrupted himself. “No. You did it backwards.”

Ryuji dropped the ends of the tie in frustration. “I’m just following instructions here.”

Akechi motioned with his hand some more, as if replaying his routine in his head. “This is usually muscle memory for me, I can’t…” He sighed. “I’ll be right back.” He put the phone down and Ryuji smiled in satisfaction as the camera stared up at Akechi’s ceiling.

Akechi reappeared holding one of his school uniform ties. He put it around his neck. “Alright, undo that mess and do what I do.”

Slowly and carefully, Akechi talked Ryuji and himself through each step and a couple minutes later each had a beautifully tied tie around his neck.

“Perfect.” Akechi smiled. “Now just fold your collar back down.” He moved to do it himself, then laughed. “I can’t do that, I’m wearing a t-shirt.”

Ryuji laughed too. “I’ve never seen you wearin’ casual stuff before,” he remarked as he folded his collar down. He stepped back. “How’s it look?”

“Tuck in your shirt,” said Akechi exasperatedly. “God.”

“I was gonna do that in a second,” said Ryuji, hastily tucking his shirt into his black dress pants. He grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair and put it on, stepping back so Akechi could see his whole body. “Whaddaya think?”

Akechi nodded. “Not bad. Do you have a pocket square?”

“A what?”

Akechi smiled. “I didn’t think so. It’s fine.” He scanned Ryuji up and down. “Please tell me you own black socks.”

Ryuji looked down at the white socks he was wearing that stood out between his black shoes and pants. “Yes, I own black socks. Gimme a sec.” He ripped off his shoes, replaced his socks, retied his shoes, and stood back up in front of the camera. “That better?”

“Better.” Akechi gave the thumbs up. “Akechi seal of approval.”

Ryuji’s laugh was interrupted by a knock on his bedroom door. “Ryuji, honey?” came a voice from outside. “Are you almost ready?”

“All ready, mom!” Ryuji called back.

His door opened to reveal a woman a few inches shorter than Ryuji with black hair down to her shoulders. She gasped when she saw Ryuji. “Oh, you look wonderful, sweetheart!” She put her hands on her son’s shoulders. “When did you get so big and handsome?” Looking over his shoulder, she noticed Ryuji’s phone. “Oh, sorry, am I interrupting something?” she asked. 

Ryuji shook his head. “It’s okay. Akechi was just helpin’ me with stuff.”

Ryuji’s mom looked at the camera and smiled at Akechi. “So you’re Akechi-kun,” she said. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Akechi gave her a small smile. “I’m sure you have. Make sure your son keeps his shirt tucked in, Sakamoto-san.”

Ryuji’s mom laughed. Her laugh was similar to Ryuji’s, long and loud and joyful. “You can bet on that.”

“Hey!” Ryuji snapped. “Why d’you call her -san and not me?”

“Why Sakamoto, don’t you know that the suffix -san is used for people for whom the speaker has a significant amount of respect?”

“Why you-!” Ryuji was interrupted by his mom bursting out laughing again. “Come on, Ryuji, we need to get ready to go,” she said. “Ten minutes, okay?”

“Okay,” he nodded as his mom left the room, closing the door behind her.

“But seriously,” Akechi said. “Do you really want me to call you ‘Sakamoto-san’?”

Ryuji thought for a moment. “I guess not. It sounds weird.”

“There we go then.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Ryuji rubbed the back of his neck. “Thanks for your help,” he said. “I would’ve been totally sunk without you.”

“You’re welcome,” Akechi replied. “You certainly took up enough of my time. I have a lot of work to get back to.”

“Have fun with that.”

Akechi chuckled. “Thanks. You have fun too.”

Ryuji nodded and smiled. “I will. Thanks again, man. See ya later.”

“See you later, Sakamoto.”

_ Beep. _


End file.
